Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (0123)

The Federation Forces fight back against the Crossbone Vanguard

In the year UC 0123, Years after the completion of the Federations Frontier Side Initiative intended to be an answer to the growing population, A new threat emerges in the form of a faction calling themselves “Cosmo Babylonia”. Intent on forming their own empire, they deploy the forces of The Crossbone Vanguard to conquer and invade the Frontier Side. The unprepared Federation Forces are no match for them and quickly retreat. On the Colony Frontier IV, Seabook Arno and his friends are caught in one of these attacks, witnessing the loss of life and destruction around them. After their friend Cecily Fairchild is captured by members of the Crossbone Vanguard that claim she is the lost heir to the Ronah Family, Seabook and his friends escape on the Federation Ship Space Ark.

F91 Gundam engaged in Aerial Battle.

Little does Seabook know at the time, Space Ark is transporting an experimental Federation Mobile Suit designed by his own mother, the F91 Gundam. Forced to pilot this highly advanced Mobile Suit, will Seabook be able to stop the Crossbone Vanguard and thwart the efforts of Cosmo Babylonia? Will he be able to defeat the ace pilot and military director of the Crossbone Vanguard, Carazzo “Iron Mask” Ronah? And will he be able to fight Cecily, now calling her Berah Ronah? All this is answered in the fast-paced movie, Mobile Suit Gundam F91!!

So there is not a lot to say about this movie, but I will say as much as I can. First, in terms of significance, Mobile Suit Gundam F91 is the first addition to the UC that took place in years far separated from the One Year War. It takes place 30 Years after the events of Char’s Counter Attack, which at this time had been the latest date written into the UC timeline up until the release of F91. In this series the Mobile suits are described as smaller than the previous suits of the Universal Century, this in-universe explanation was a marketing pretext for Bandai to make smaller model kits to reduce costs. However the cost of making smaller joint pieces and tools to paint the models, Bandai abandoned this strategy and returned the mobile suits as well as the model kits to normal size by the release of Turn A Gundam.

Carozzo “Iron Mask” Ronah is the leader of Cosmo Babylonia’s military.

Gundam F91 also introduced a new antagonist in the form of the aggressive and totalitarian Cosmo Babylonia Empire. The Gundam Wiki describes Cosmo Babylonia as being “dedicated to the principles of aristocracy and noblesse oblige“, and it is noticeable they decide to honour the Babylonian Empire in their name and the imagery of their flag. Their fighting force, The Crossbone Vanguard, would go on to take the focal role in a Manga known as “Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam” which spans the years between the events of Gundam F91 and Mobile Suit Victory Gundam. It was hinted at the end of the Gundam F91 Movie that they would return with some material serving as a prequel or sequel, but such a project never came to fruition. The idea of a Crossbone Gundam Anime, however, has been popular with fans for a couple of decades now however so it is not impossible that the promise of the film will be filled in that manner one day.

As it was, I found Gundam F91 left a lot to be desired, and that “a lot” was more. It was a pretty good addition to the UC timeline (they usually all are, to be honest), but it was so brief and deserved more elaboration. A movie was just not enough to satisfy what F91 introduced us to in expanding the UC Timeline. Luckily, the film is easily obtained on Blueray from Amazon. You can get it here, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Unicorn (0096)

The only Image I could find of both Unicorn forms side by side.

In the 3 years since the 2nd Neo-Zeon War, relative peace has returned to the Earthsphere. In the peace of the Side 4 Colony named Industrial 7, young Banagher Links attends the Anaheim Industrial College. Banagher never knew his parents and pays for his schooling by cleaning up space debris, however this carefree life of general peace is about to change forever. While traveling to the Colony Builder “Snail” on a class field trip, Banagher saves a young girl who is falling. She is the princess of Zeon Mineva Lao Zabi, going by the alias Audrey Burne. Soon after this meeting, Industrial 7 becomes the scene of a battle between a group of Zeon Remnants and the Federation Force Londo Bell. In the Chaos, Banagher stumbles upon the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam.

Banagher and Mineva hold the fate of the entire Earthsphere in their hands.

Forced to pilot the Gundam in an attempt to save Industrial 7, Banagher finds himself pulled into a larger conflict beyond his imagination. His fate is now tied in with Mineva’s as they criss-cross the Earthsphere solving a 96-year-old mystery. Will they be beaten to their goal by the Neo-Zeon Leader Full Frontal, known as the “2nd Coming of Char”? Will the object they find destroy the world or bring about the Federation that Ricardo Marcenas dreamed of 96 years earlier? The Universal Century is changed forever in Mobile Suit Gundam: Unicorn.

RX-0 Unicorn (NT-D Mode) vs MSN-06S Sinanju

Unicorn is like the all-important twilight years at the end of the first half of the UC calendar that bridges the gap between the real Zeon threat and the real threat of Cosmos Babylonia. It is almost like Stardust Memory in that it sets up certain plot elements leading up to Gundam F91. As a stand-alone piece as well, it is as good as The 08th MS Team in that the characters are characters you connect with quick and wish you could see more from. The Mobile Suit designs too are a good transition from the Hizacks and suits of Zeta, so it is not a huge shock unlike the jump from GM’s and Zaku’s to the suits that existed in 0087. For these reasons, I approve of it as a dynamic addition to the UC timeline, and it has been the only totally original addition since the 90’s.

The leader of Neo-Zeon, Full Frontal. Is he really Char Aznable in disguise?

The political intrigue of Unicorn was a huge appeal for me, it revealed a lot of the history of the Universal Century that has been skimmed over till this point in the narrative. The very origins of the Universal Century are finally covered and they do not disappoint as they are filled with drama and conflict from the beginning. Conflict aside though, the speech of Ricardo Marcenas inspired me greatly and I often wonder if the storyline would have been improved had it not been interrupted by the tragedy at Laplace? But as the foundation for a conspiracy goes, it was pretty great. The mystery of Full Frontal is also intriguing. At this point, we know Char Aznable has a penchant for disappearing as if he were dead and reappearing. The writers take full advantage of this and tease you as they go along by making you ask yourself “Is this Char?” or “Is this a Clone of Char?” making this character quite possibly more interesting than Char or any of his other Aliases. It is the fun kind of tease that I enjoyed.

Even though Unicorn is more recent, it was impossible for me to find the complete series in a boxed set. I know right? That sucks that they would not have something like that by now, especially considering how recently this aired. But you can piece it together here on Amazon. So go put a close to that century with a smile on your face! 🙂

C-Gaymer Podcats Episode 7: Democrats are Racists

On today’s episode of the C-Gaymer Podcast, we are going to cover a fact that should be obvious to everybody, Democrats are Racists. Their History, their behaviour, the results of their policies, all of these have been disastrous to the lives of Black Americans. Join us as we explore this pitifully hidden truth.

 

By the way, we have stopped doing uploads on SoundCloud due to their storage Policy. For the foreseeable Future, all podcast episodes will be uploaded to Vimeo. If you would like a download of our Podcast, please contact us through the Contact Page with your email, age, and the Name/Episode # of the Episode you are Requesting.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack (0093)

5th Luna Asteroid dropping on Lhasa Tibet

The year 0093, the Second Neo-Zeon War is quickly approaching levels of destruction unseen since the One-Year-War. Lead by Char Aznable whose intention is to make the earth uninhabitable by humans, the forces of Neo-Zeon lead a successful asteroid drop operation on Lhasa, Tibet. Unable to stop them, the Federation Special Forces Unit known as Londo Bell prepares for another attack. In Von Braun City, Amuro Ray takes custody of the prototype (nu) ν Gundam and begins his return trip to Londo Bell’s Headquarters at the Side 1 colony Londonion. While all this happens the Federation attempts to negotiate a ceasefire with Char Aznabel, unaware of his treacherous plans.

Char Aznable returns to the Earth Sphere with a rain of chaos and destruction.

After regaining control of the Asteroid Base Axis, Char announces his plan to achieve his father’s ideals of humanity leaving the earth for the colonies. He will drop the massive Asteroid Base Axis on the Earth and start another Ice Age! Now the forces of Londo Bell, led by Captain Bright Noa, must stop Axis from colliding with the planet and wiping out mankind. Will they be able to stop them without the Nuclear Arsenal of Luna 2? Will Amuro Ray be able to beat Char Aznabel in his experimental ν Gundam and put an end to any further wars? And will the budding love between 2 youth be able to survive the bitter flames of war? The drama unfolds in Yoshiyuki Tomino’s 1988 film, Mobile Suit Gundam: Chars Counterattack.

This is Amuro’s last corporeal appearance in the Universal Century.

Okay guys, I am going to have to give you a huge spoiler alert because to give my thoughts on this there are a few crucial points I have to spoil. First off, this is the last time you will ever see Char or Amuro alive in the Universal Century. While there are appearances of their spirits in Gundam Unicorn, and a mention of Amuro’s Memories in a Gundam Short, Amuro and Char both make their final appearances as they both die during the failed drop of Axis. In a way, the death of Char also represents the death of Zeon as a whole. The only other major conflict is the Third Neo-Zeon War in 0096 which ended in failure leading to the dissolution of the Republic of Zeon 4 years later in UC 0100. After that, there is no reference to the Zeon as they become nothing but a memory and are later overshadowed by newer threats such as the Cosmos Babylonia conflict and the war with the Zanscare Empire.

Amuro’s RX-93 ν Gundam vs Char’s MSN-04 Sazabi

It is also the effective end of the quintessential rivalry between Char and Amuro, a rivalry which is also a metaphor for the conflicting ideaologies of staying on Earth and all of Humanity leaving the Earth to live in the Colonies. As to which side of this argument won, it is clearly Amuro who uses the Psychoframe technology of the ν Gundam to stop Axis from hitting the Earth. This was the original Gundam Rivalry, and its end is appropriately climatic. From this point on, the only character from the original series who makes any cameo is Bright Noa, who is still Captain of the Ra Cailum and head of Londo Bell in 0096 and onward in supplemental works. It is effectively the cutting off point for classic Gundam.

As a movie, the first movie actually, Char’s Counterattack made more than the most of its 2 hours and 4 minutes run time. It was meant to be a total end to the old Universal Century and serves as a springboard into the new Universal Century. As a movie, it is also a lot easier to obtain. You can get it here on Amazon in your preferred formats. Enjoy it, and keep a box of tissues nearby.

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (Double Zeta) (0088)

9-Year-Old Mineva Lao Zabi practicing violin aboard Axis. She is in effect only a figurehead of Neo-Zeon.

In the year 0088, the Gryps Conflict has ended but a new threat is on the horizon. The remnants of Zeon lead by Mineva Lao Zabi have declared war from their asteroid base Axis, but behind the scenes, the war effort is being led by the cold and ruthless Haman Karn. The Earth Sphere is about to heat up again as the war-weary and unprepared Federation Government prepares to once again delve into another full-scale conflict. This time the AEUG fights alongside them, but first their flagship the Argama must dock for repairs at the Side 1 Colony of Shangrila. They also need to find a replacement pilot for the Zeta Gundam now that Kamille Bidan has gone catatonic. Unbeknownst to them, their piloting problem will be solved on Side 1. But will it bring new problems with it?

Haman Karn is the true face behind the Neo-Zeon War.

14-Year Old Orphan Judau Ashta and his friends collect junk on the aging Shangrila Colony just to get by. When the Argama docks at Shangrila though, their misguided plan to steal the Zeta Gundam and sell it for scrap gets them caught in the middle of the budding war. Young Judau is now forced to fight Neo-Zeon and the soldiers of Harman Karn in the newly delivered experimental Gundam, the ZZ Gundam. Motivated by rescuing his sister kidnapped by the Neo-Zeon, will Judau be able to put an end to this new war, or will Harman Karn once again subject the Earthsphere to the horrors of Zeon? Find out in Yoshiyuki Tomino’s 3rd installment into the Gundam Universal Century, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ!!

The Newtype from Side 1, Judau Ashta appears in other Gundam works down the line.

So first off, a lot of people say ZZ Gundam was pretty crappy and a waste of time. To a degree this is true, but I found it more entertaining in many ways than Zeta Gundam. First off, Judau Ashta is a more attractive protagonist, a lovable goofball in contrast to the bratty Kamille Bidan. What Judau lacks in intellect he more than makes up for with his skill as a Newtype and his dominate confidence. That is more appealing to me even though his mobile suit is crappier (also my opinion) and his companions are more annoying. ZZ Gundam also shows the Earthsphere and its colonies in more detail, showing the different characters of each one and even discovering colonies lost to memory. Again, this made it a far more appealing experience for me than Zeta.

ZZ Gundam had a more comedic tone and used humor and fan service to break the gloom.

ZZ Gundam also added more things we had not seen from Tomino before, things such as a more innocent and enjoyable atmosphere in which the characters interact. There was a lot more humor in it, such as Judau being boob smothered by his enemy pilot Chara Soon. Many of the enemies chasing them were almost as inept as Elmer Fudd and had quirks that make the soldiers of Neo-Zeon almost likable. There were darker parts as well though, such as Tomino’s usual Hamlet-esqe plot device of killing off most of the main characters towards the end of the series. Tomino also explored the Newtypes in a darker light with the character Elpeo Ple, a Cloned Newtype. This was a slightly edgier concept than the Cyber Newtypes created by human experimentation as cloning was a hotter hot-button topic at this time. This all made for a pretty compelling series though.

Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam was the second to last installation to the Universal Century that Tomino did in the 80’s. His next work would be Char’s Counterattack seemingly ending the UC timeline till the addition of further works in the 90’s. It is kind of hard now to find a complete edition of the entire series. You can try to piece it together from boxed sets though by searching for it on Amazon. I hope you enjoy it. 🙂

C-Gaymer Podcast Episode 6: Illegal Immigration

C-Gaymer Podcast Episode 6: Illegal Immigration from C-Gaymer on Vimeo.

Today we will talk about a huge issue facing the country, Illegal Immigration. Crime, Voter Fraud, Welfare Fraud, why doesn’t Congress act to build the wall? Who benefits from it? Mr. F.L.A.G. and I explore all of this.

Mobile Suit “Zeta” Gundam (0087)

Lt. Quattro Bajeena has a surprising and dark secret.

In the year 0087, the Earth Federation is facing a new internal conflict. The oppressive and often criminal actions of the Federation Special Forces Unit, the Titans, has led to the formation of the AEUG (Anti-Earth Federation Group). The small war between the group has heated up and it threatens to boil over into an open conflict. Anticipating this, the Titans commission the development of new mobile suits. The AEUG catches wind of these plans and makes the decision to capture these units from their testing facility in the Side 7 Colony Green Noa.

Kamille Bidan and the Zeta Gundam

Young Kamille Bidan is barely aware of any of this aside from the oppressiveness of the Titans towards citizens of the space colonies. One day, however, on his way to see his father at Side 7’s RND Facility he runs into the middle of the AEUG’s operation to capture the Titans experimental Gundam MK-II Units. After deciding to help them capture the MK-II’s, Kamille joins the AEUG, where he designs and then pilots the state of the art Zeta Gundam. Joined by the mysterious Quattro Bajeena and the crew of the Nael Argama, Kamille must fight the Titans at every turn as they advance their schemes. Can Kamille and the AEUG defeat the oppressive Titans while also fending off the advances of Neo-Zeon? And will the Federation survive? These questions are answered in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam!!

The Argama docked for repairs with the La Vie En Rose.

Now I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think Zeta Gundam was all that great. The main character was a spoiled whiny brat honestly, and a lot of it feels like a rehashed version of the original Mobile Suit Gundam with all of the kids crowded onto a ship forming a family unit and all that crap. It was basically 50 episodes of the original series redone to be slightly different. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is an important installment to the Universal Century and without it, the Gundam franchise would probably have died off and there would be no Universal Century. That would have made my job here easier of course but that is beside the point as we would have missed out on so many great Gundam Series.

Amuro Ray in his Federation Uniform aboard the Argama.

There are some notable and almost redeemable points to the series though. This series contains the third and final attempt at an actual Colony Drop in the UC timeline. It is also the first series (Timeline Oriented) since the original Mobile Suit Gundam to feature Amuro Ray and the rest of the crew of the White Base. It also sets the stage for the comeback of Zeon which plays an important role in subsequent series following Zeta. The most important aspect though is that it puts the concept of Newtypes front and center which influences every Gundam series after it.

Now there are many formats for buying this series on Amazon. And as usual, I am going to provide the link to provide them here. Before you go to buy a copy though, I highly suggest you read some more reviews besides mine and decide for yourself whether you want to buy it. I personal thought it was not great but other people call it the most important thing after Mobile Suit Gundam (which is kinda accurate), but the last thing you want is buyers regret 10 episodes in to a 50 episode series. If you do buy it though then enjoy it, cause thats what good anime is made for!!